MYSTERIOUS GIRL

KATE MOSS, contorted in every conceivable way, wearing nothing but her bra and pants: every paparazzi's dream, no? Now that dream has become a reality thanks to renowned artist Marc Quinn, whose sculpture of the model is scheduled to go on view in the Netherlands later this month. Called 'Sphinx', the work, which is made in bronze and painted white, shows her with her legs and arms behind her head in a series of yoga positions. At the unveiling, Quinn said the piece was so named because of Kate Moss's mysterious persona. "She is a contemporary version of the Sphinx. A mystery. There must be something about her that has clicked with the collective unconscious to make her so ubiquitous, so spirit of the age," said the artist, whose last sculpture of Alison Lapper - an artist without arms and fully developed legs - took pride of place in Trafalgar Square. There were, however, no actual Downward Facing Dog shenanigans for Miss Moss, who has also sat for Lucian Freud. While the body and head of the cast are that of the one model, the actual positions were drawn from a yoga expert. "It's a portrait of an image, and the way that image is sculpted and twisted by our collective desire," said Quinn. (13 April 2006, AM) Stephen Doig